Safety-headboard for folding beds.



- J. H. EDMONDS. SAFETY HEADBOARD FOR FOLDING BEDS.

APPLIGATIOR FILED JAN. 10, 1908.

943,594. Patented Dec.14,.1909.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. EDMONDS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

SAFETY-HEADBOARD FOR FOLDING BEDS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES H. EDMONDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Safety-Headboard for Folding Beds, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide means whereby the head boards of folding or wall beds of the class shown and de scribed in the patent issued to F. B. Villiams on April 28, 1885, No. 316,711 wherein the head board is actuated by the lowering and raising of the bed to close and open the bed receiving recess, may be detached from the head of the bed in the event such bed should become closed through accident when occupied, and by such detachment release the occupants from between the bed and the head board and prevent their being crushed or otherwise injured.

My invention particularly relates to such head boards and provides means to retain the head board in its position on the head of the bed under ordinary conditions and to lock it against the jambs or casing of the bed receiving recess or opening when the bed is in its lowered position, and also permits the head board to become detached from the head of the bed in case any undue pressure or strain is put upon it from the side nearest the bed when the bed is nearly elevated or is in its elevated position. In other words, the connection between the head board and the bed becomes locked, or inseparable, when the bed is lowered but is only semi-locked, or separable, when the bed is closed.

My invention also comprises the detachable pivotal means and disengaging guiding means employed whereby such head board is actuated to open or close the bed receiving recess.

Referring to the drawings :Figure 1 is a vertical section showing a folding bed and its head board, the bed being in its elevated position. Fig. 2 is a like vertical section showing the bed in its lowered position and the head board in position to close the bed receiving recess. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation showing the head board when the bed is in its lowered position. Fig. 1 is a fragmental view showing the hinge attached to the heat board and the head of the bed. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the same. Fig. 6 is an elevation Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 10, 1908.

Patented Dec. 14., 1909.

Serial No. 410,189.

I of the guide rail and slot. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the hinge leaf provided wit-h the pivot rest and inclined shoulder. Fig. 8 is a detail view, showing one of the hinges on the head board and the head of the bed in the position when the bed is lowered. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the hinge leaf provided with the pivot.

1 is a bed pivotally mounted in a recess 2- in the wall of an apartment by any suitable means such as a sliding fulcrum 3 and stirrup strap 4.

5, 5 are hinges arranged to carry a head board 6.

7 is a guide rail adapted to guide the head board 6 by means of slot 8 in a standard 9.

10 is the top of the weight boX 10 at the head end 11 of the bed 1.

12 is a hinge leaf fastened to the top 10.

13 is a hinge leaf attached to the head board 6.

1 1 is an inclined shoulder sloping at a suitable angle outwardly from the pivot rest 15 011 the leaf 12.

16 is a stop on the leaf 12 to retain the pivot or pintle 17 carried in the pivot rest 15.

The guide rail 7 is secured to a wall 18 interior of a closet or other convenient recess 19 and above the recess opening 2 and depends outwardly and downwardly at an an gle from such wall. The slotted arm 9 is attached to the head board 6 by any suitable means, preferably at or near its top, the slot 8 is preferably cut at the same angle as the angle 'of the depending rail 7, and engages with the rail to slide up and down thereon when the head board is raised or lowered.

Then the bed is lowered and in use, the head board is raised to close the recess 2 and contacts with the jambs 20, 20 of the recess 2. The pivot 17 on the hinge leaf 13 is retained in the pivot recess 15 of the hinge leaf 12 by the stop 16 and the sloping shoulder 141, as shown in Fig. 8. WVhen the bed is not in use and is raised, as shown in Fig. 1, the head board is lowered to a point where the slotted standard has reached nearly to the end of the guide rail 7, and the hinge of the head board is in the position shown in Fig. 1. The pivot 17 being seated in the pivot recess 15 is then free to be detached from the head of the bed. If at this time any undue pressure is placed against the head board from the side toward the bed, the pivot 17 will slide upwardly and rearwardly on the inclined shoulder 14, and permit it to become disengaged from the hinge leaf 12. In such event the slotted standard 9 may slip from the guide rail 7 and the head board will then be entirely disengaged from the bed as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. By this arrangement it is readily seen that in case of the accidental closing of the bed while occupied by a person, the weight of the person falling against the head board 6 will cause the bottom thereof to become disengaged from the bed and allow such person or object to fall onto the floor, thereby obviating the danger of being crushed or held and smothered by the bed clothes.

The inclined track 7 may be arranged as shown, or may be arranged to release the head board by other means than that shown in Fig. 7, but any track or guide means utilized for the purpose of allowing the head board to become detached at its pivot point with the bed and to fall rearwardly therefrom, comes within my invention and I do not desire to be understood to confine myself to the exact arrangement or construc tion of parts for guiding the upper end of the head board, but desire to include any suitable means whereby such head board may be readily detached when the bed is in its elevated position. For instance, the guide rails may be made flexible, or yielding, so that the head board will be disengaged therefrom when pressure is applied to the inner side of the board whether the bottom is disconnected or not. Vith inclined rails, whether flexible or not, they are preferably made rigid at their inner ends so as to guide the board toward the opening and to firmly wedge, or force it, against the support therefor around the bed opening, even to the extent of shutting off all draft or movement of the air through said opening when the bed is lowered. Other forms of guide rails and guide slots will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and in some instances the guide rails and the guide slots may be located at a lower point on the wall and head board but such modifications and adaptations are considered by me to be within my invention.

By the use of my invention a great saving of time and labor is effected in the installation of folding beds for the reason that the bed is first mounted in its pivotal bearings, the hinge leaf provided with the pivot rest is then put in place on the head of the bed and the head board provided with the hinge leaf carrying the pivots is then placed on the head of the bed with the pivots in their respective rests. The slotted standards previously having been placed in position on the upper part of the head board, are then passed over the guide rails, the angle of the slot therein enabling the workman to deter- 1. In combination, a folding bed, a head board pivotally connected therewith and adapted to be actuated thereby, said connection being adapted to be inseparably locked when the bed is open and to be easily separable by pressure against the inner side of the head board when the bed is closed.

2. In combination, a folding bed, a head board pivotally connected therewith and adapted to be actuated thereby, one member of the pivot being provided with a seat and an inclined shoulder leading therefrom, and the other member being provided with a pivot portion which is adapted to rest in said seat and be inseparable therefrom when the bed is lowered but which can be easily moved up said incline by pressure against the inner side of the head board and separated from the seat member when the bed is raised.

3. In combination, a folding bed, a head board therefor adapted to be actuated by the movement of the bed to open and close the bed receiving recess, a pivot rest on the head of the bed, a pivot carried by the head board seated in such pivot rest, a guide rail mounted to guide the head board when the same is actuated by the movement of the bed and adapted to release the head board to the rear when the pivot is unseated from the pivot rest.

4. In combination, a folding bed, a head board therefor adapted to be actuated by the movement of the bed to open and close the bed receiving recess, a pivot rest on the head of the bed, a shoulder sloping outwardly from such pivot rest, a pivot carried by the head board seated in such pivot rest, a guide rail mounted to guide the head board in its movement when actuated by the bed and adapted to release the head board to the rear when the pivot is unseated from the pivot rest.

5. In combination, a folding bed, a head board, pivoted means connecting the head board with the bed, such means being adapted to allow the lower end of the head board to become disconnected from the bed when the bed is elevated, and means for guiding the upper end of the head board, said board being adapted to be disengaged from said guiding means when its lower end is disconnected from the bed.

6. In combination, a pivotally mounted bed adapted to fold into and out of a bed receiving recess, a head board for the head of the bed and arranged to be actuated by the movement of the bed to open and close said recess, a hinge mounted on the head of the bed and carrying the head board, one member of such hinge being provided with a pivot receiving recess and a shoulder extending outwardly and upwardly at a slight angle from the bottom of such recess, and the other member of such hinge carrying a pivot, such pivot being seated in the pivot receiving recess of the first named member, and a downwardly extending guiding member.

7. In combination, a bed pivotally mounted to fold into and out of a bed receiving recess, a head board pivotally connected with the bed and actuated thereby to close and open the bed receiving recess, said board be ing provided with perforations, and inclinedguides through said perforations.

8. In combination, a folding bed, ahead board pivotally connected therewith, one member of the pivot being provided with an inclined portion and the other member with a pintle for engaging therewith, and

means for moving the inclined portion from a substantially vertical position when the bed is open, so as to lock the pintle against separation therefrom, to a substantially horizontal position when the bed is closed, 

